Collecting these mulberries?

[dtreesj]

I'm thinking about doing something with these mulberry trees that keep ruining my fence. I'm assuming they are still alive since they've been around for years and don't die even when I try to kill them. What might I be able to do, and when should I start? I'm mainly interested in gaining experience so I'm not too concerned about end results.

Also I have some honeysuckle that I might want to make cuttings of. When should I take the cuttings?

 

[sorce]

You really gotta stay in top of a ground mulberry or they'll get outta hand. But if you can, I'd grow a couple good low segments before pulling em.

Or just helltear em out the ground at any time.

Eff the honeysuckle cutting.

Beside being technically illegal probably...

You can find huge invasive easy to dig trunks damn near anywhere.

Sorce

 

[dtreesj]

You really gotta stay in top of a ground mulberry or they'll get outta hand. But if you can, I'd grow a couple good low segments before pulling em.

Or just helltear em out the ground at any time.

Eff the honeysuckle cutting.

Beside being technically illegal probably...

You can find huge invasive easy to dig trunks damn near anywhere.

Sorce

Haha yeah, honeysuckle isn't really aggressive here so I tend to forget it is invasive. Honestly I rarely see it around aside from what I've had on my fence for years.

 

[sorce]

forget it is invasive.

Lol me too! So is mulberry!

Sorce

 

[Forsoothe!]

Honeysuckle is bad news. Very straight branches, easily broken, knobby internodes, the anti-bonsai. Mulberry is different. Fast growing, especially in the ground, so you need to stay right on it or it gets out of bounds. Leaves reduce nicely and become frilly with lots of cuts and wavy edges , very unlike the giant, untrained(unreduced) leaves. Again, trim it all the time. Can be kept small/shohin, but better as a larger broom. There are no mother trees in my neighborhood, but I get seedlings every year. Thank you, birdies.

 

[dtreesj]

So should I try to air layer them, or leave them in the ground and try to get some lower branches then dig them up? Or just take some cuttings? Or even all three?

 

[Forsoothe!]

All of the above, except do not leave them in the ground for more than 2 growing seasons, they grow too fast and they need to be pruned often. They are the archetype of trees that should be clip & grow. Have your pruning shears with you every day you water them. They need to be tip pruned all the time to keep them ramifying. Otherwise you get big branches, everywhere. Great trees for rookies who need constant feed back, unlike pines that you trim once or twice a year according to a schedule.

 

[leatherback]

Make sure you know what honeysuckle you have. All of them can make good to great bonsai. Unless of course you have not found out that you can wire straight branches as they grow, and that you can pinch runners back so encourage twigs.. With the vine-honey suckles thickening takes however sooo long that working from cuttings can be impractical.

My suckle from a gardenshrub

 

[dtreesj]

Yeah I'm not entirely sure but I think it is either the Japanese kind or one of the ones you can buy from Home Depot. I'm pretty sure it is not any of the native kinds. I was interested because I saw a youtuber make a bonsai out of one that turned out pretty good.

 

[Forsoothe!]

These are from China and have intermingled with the American red, so that the leaf variation is all over the map. If you don't reduce the leaves they are mostly all just big with no indent. The more you reduce them, the fancier the leaf becomes including very wavy. They will get down to an inch and I think it is as handsome as they come.

 

[sorce]

They will get down to an inch and I think it is as handsome as they come

Amen!

My favorite leaf.

Sorce

 

[leatherback]

Yeah I'm not entirely sure but I think it is either the Japanese kind or one of the ones you can buy from Home Depot. I'm pretty sure it is not any of the native kinds. I was interested because I saw a youtuber make a bonsai out of one that turned out pretty good.

Not sure which that would be

If you post a picture, I am sure someone can help you figure out which it is. There are many varieties. I would try to avoid the real vines and stick with one of the shrubs.

 

[dtreesj]

Not sure which that would be

If you post a picture, I am sure someone can help you figure out which it is. There are many varieties. I would try to avoid the real vines and stick with one of the shrubs.

It's hard to say with it bare, it does appear to be a vine type though. There's a couple other things mixed in there so I need the leaves to come in to see what's what.